Spellbound
by Searchingformyheart
Summary: Who would fall in love with her bully? Hinamori Amu. Who would fall in love with his victim? Tsukiyomi Ikuto. But neither of them really knew, and now the weaker one's ready to bite back for revenge. Somewhere along the way, they'll both learn to piece their broken hearts back together, bit by bit. Even if it takes drama, fights, and growing up at last.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

I fell in love with my bully. The one who hurt me. Who played with my feelings. The only one that was capable of breaking my heart, over and over again, leaving scars that would only heal at his hands.

Why?

The answer is simple. I was spellbound. It wasn't real magic, but in reality, it was close enough. I was drawn into him, into his games, into his midnight eyes. I never could get out.

It took me a while to figure out what I was to do about this. There's a saying that goes, "There's a fine line between love and hate." I had always stood firmly on one side of the line, but as everything started falling apart, I started forward. I recklessly crossed that line and now, I was forced to pretend like I belonged there. But he is still there, still pulling me in, still binding me under his spell. We pushed and pulled and now, we're just risking it all, balancing on this line.

Nothing is clear.

* * *

I fell in love with my victim. The one I had complete control over, the one that was so easy to manipulate. I had her in the palm of my hand, and only the slightest action or word could send her spinning.

Why?

The answer is simple. I was spellbound. By her. Captivated with the way she cared so much about me, the real me. In reality, she was the only one who could truly see me. Yet I played with her, I didn't dare believe it. I wanted to see how far I could go before she snapped.

I never thought her special, until she wasn't mine to think of anymore. I alienated someone who didn't deserve to be hurt like this. She won my respect when she started to fight back. The problem was, I started stumbling around, losing ground, and finally, seeing that I was wrong. But she is still there, pushing forward, trapping me in her golden gaze. We're just risking it all now; in this back and forth game.

Nothing is clear.

* * *

**This is...a tester, I suppose. I have to write out the next couple of chapters before I upload Chapter 1. It'll be a couple of weeks at least.**

**What do you think of the idea, though?**

**~Sea**


	2. I: I've Been Disapproved

**Part One: The Innocence**

* * *

**_One: I've Been Disapproved- :Amu:_**

"Um…hi." My awkward wave was returned with a raised eyebrow. I sent silent death messages to Rima, who was grinning innocently behind me.

The boy in front of me was tall. That was my first impression. My second impression was that he was attractive. According to Rima, he was a sophomore, like us. And I was well aware of how awkward this situation was getting.

"I'm Hinamori Amu," I introduced hastily, to avoid further awkward silence. He gazed down at me, expression unreadable.

"Tsukiyomi Ikuto." His voice was neutral. Even. His sapphire eyes were uneasily piercing. A lazy smirk stretched its way across his face, and I felt myself flush involuntarily.

"Now that you guys are all friendly and stuff, I'm going to leave." Rima's monotone broke through my train of thought and left me bewildered. _What the heck? SHE'S LEAVING ME?_

Before I could say anything, she disappeared. She moved surprisingly fast for someone so short and un-athletic. I turned around slowly, about to sheepishly apologize for Rima's strange behavior, only to see him already looking bored. I felt nervous of his disapproval.

"S-So who do you think is going to win?" I asked, gesturing to the student-staff football game that everyone was currently watching. Rima had made me stay after to watch Nagihiko and Kukai play. I probably would've stayed anyways, though.

He looked down at me, expression still uninterested. "Students."

Just as he spoke, Kukai's loud cry was heard across the field as the student team scored. He was right.

He smirked. "See?"

I blushed. "U-Uh yeah, I guess."

He was silent for a moment. "You're awkward."

_That_ certainly boosted my self-esteem.

"A-Am I? I stuttered back, trying to keep my voice steady. I failed. He nodded, seeming almost annoyed at my unsatisfactory responses.

At this time, Kukai rescued me by bounding over and throwing an arm over Ikuto's shoulder. "Yo, did you see that last play? We won so completely!" He excitedly exclaimed. Then he spotted me. "Oh hey, Amu! Did you come to see us?"

I nodded. "Y-Yeah."

"You know her?" Ikuto raised an eyebrow. Kukai bobbed his head.

"Well, we talk sometimes, but I mainly know her through Nagihiko and Rima," he amended.

Ikuto smirked at me again. "Wow, does Rima make all your friends for you?" I flushed. That wasn't true at all…

"Of course not!" My voice didn't come out as confident as I had wanted it to. He only half smiled back. Kukai started rambling on about the game, and then they turned and left.

A small monotone sounded beside me. "Damn, Nagihiko's team won. I was looking forward to teasing him about it."

I whirled around to face Rima. "What was that for?" I demanded. She blinked.

"What do you mean?" Great, even _she_ had a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Just the other day I remember you were whining about 'why are there no tall, hot guys?' Well, I found you one. Did it not go well?"

I buried my face in my hands. Rima and I were the best of friends, and had been since third grade. When we were younger, we were both considered beautiful, but as people grew up, I fell into the little-above-average category. Rima was still stunning, but her major flaw was that she was… vertically challenged. Not that it created any shortage of fans.

She looked up at me, waiting for an answer. "No," I confessed, fidgeting. "I was so awkward…" She shook her head at me.

"And he's one of the only guys taller than you," she muttered, whipping out a small notebook and crossing his name off a list I didn't know she had. I twitched, a bit scared, and flushed belatedly at her comment.

The past few years, I had been steadily growing, resulting in my five foot nine figure. I was by no means dissatisfied with my body, but the problem was finding guys that I could wear heels for.

Rima hovered just over five feet, so whenever I complained about my height, she would glare and threaten to chop some off for herself. She had filled out more than me, however, her body curvy while mine was most slender curves, made because I was skinny, and not because I had hips.

"But he seemed interested," Rima said thoughtfully, tapping the pen against her chin. I jerked.

"Really?"

She shrugged and then nodded. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, he smirked at you, and he didn't leave within the first two seconds. That might just be because you're cute, though."

I wasn't sure which part I was more flustered about. "I doubt he was. I mean, he called me awkward."

Rima gave me a look. "He's a very honest person, to be sure."

"Are you saying I'm awkward?"

"…"

"Rima!" I wailed.

"Oh, look, there's Nagihiko. He said something about going to the mall after the game," she said abruptly, trying to change the subject. I pouted a bit, but allowed her to drag me over to her self-proclaimed nemesis.

He was toweling off, shirt on the bench and water dumped all over him. Rima started going red and mumbling and hiding behind me, clutching my shirt. The guys often did this after Gym, but she only got flustered when Nagihiko did it. I didn't really know why… perhaps because she hated him so much, it was hard to see him be attractive?

"Hey, Nagi," I greeted. He turned around and smiled, and then blinked in what seemed like confusion.

"Amu-chan, what is that mass of blonde and devilish-ness behind you?" He asked innocently, causing Rima to twitch and peek out, glaring.

"Amu-chan," she said, mocking his tone, "what is that creature with the purple fur and aura of evil around him in front of us?" I laughed as they started to bicker. Rima suddenly broke off in the middle of one of her retorts, remembering her original purpose. "Oh yeah, weren't we going to go to the mall?"

Nagihiko stuck his head and arms through his shirt and shrugged. "Sure, if you want. Amu, you coming? Kukai can give us all a ride."

Nagihiko had arrived in our elementary school in the fifth grade, and he and Rima had instantly become enemies, because Rima declared that he had "tried to steal me away from her". He and I were fairly close, but he was actually closer to Rima, for all their arguing.

Kukai was a junior, and we had met him through Nagihiko during our freshman year, when he had been a sophomore. We weren't that close, but he was one of Nagihiko's best friends.

Apparently, as Nagihiko kept talking, Ikuto was close to Kukai as well, because of some girl he had started dating. (Kukai, not Ikuto.)

"Oh yeah, you little kid, think you can win?" A loud, bossy voice sounded across the field. High, clear, and forceful, it demanded attention. All heads turned to see a grinning Kukai, hands behind his head, and a beautiful blonde, hands on her hips and amethyst eyes sharp and piercing. They were fierce, but somehow held the same deep quality as Ikuto's, so their personalities were probably similar. Scary.

"No, I'll win this time," Kukai replied cockily, sticking his tongue out at her.

"Oh, there's Utau," Nagihiko said, starting towards Kukai and the girl, Utau. Rima and I exchanged glances, and then followed.

"That's Ikuto's sister," he explained as we neared. "And Kukai's girlfriend, although it doesn't always seem like it." Ah, so the reason their gaze was similar was because they were related, and not because of their personalities. That eased my fears about meeting her, a bit.

They were discussing some kind of bet when we finally reached them, and unless my hearing was failing, it included…ramen?

Then I saw Ikuto sauntering over, and started panicking. I was fine with meeting Utau, since she was a girl, albeit an intimidating one. But the thought of talking to her brother again made my confidence crawl into a hole and die. I was _so_ awkward.

"Are we going or what?" He asked coolly as he approached us. He ignored the rest of us, speaking only to Kukai, who grinned and nodded.

"Hmm, it might be a bit tight, but we can squeeze," he decided, surveying us. I counted our numbers. Rima, Nagihiko, Ikuto, Kukai, Utau and me. Six, and there were probably only five seats.

"I call shotgun," Utau quickly said, and Ikuto raised his eyebrow. (Only one of them, which I could never do…)

"Dear sister, I am taller than you. I require more space. Therefore, I get shotgun," he countered, looking down at her.

She defiantly stared up, crossing her arms.

"I called it first," she shot back. He crossed his arms as well, mimicking her.

"I was born first. I'm older than you, and you should listen to your elders."

"By eight minutes, bitch!"

"They're twins?" I asked, bewildered. Rima shrugged and Nagihiko nodded.

"Fraternal, in case you couldn't tell," he told me. I blinked. They looked NOTHING alike.

"Both of you shut up, shotgun is mine," Rima deadpanned. Nagihiko looked at her in amusement.

"But you're the shortest, so it makes no sen-" she stepped on his foot, cutting him off.

"You listen here, she started, digging her heel into his foot and twisting it, "I am the motherfucking princess. I want shotgun. I GET shotgun. Understood?"

That is the story of how Rima ended up riding shotgun and Kukai drove, while the four tall people ended up squished in the back. Now that I thought about it, Rima was the only short one in our group.

When we arrived at the mall, we spilled out of the backseat, groaning and complaining. Only Ikuto hopped out gracefully, hands in his pockets.

Utau put an arm on my shoulder, using me as an armrest as she bent over panting. "My boyfriend is a terrible driver. I think I'm about to puke."

Ignoring Kukai's cries of protest, she stood up straight and looked at me. We were roughly the same height, and she smiled. "I'm Tsukiyomi Utau. Who are you?"

The way she said 'who are you' wasn't rude. "I'm Hinamori Amu, n-nice to meet you."

She slapped my back, grinning in a way scarily reminiscent of Kukai. He was rubbing off on her… or perhaps; she had rubbed off on him? "Welcome to the group, Hinamori Amu. Do you dye your hair? It's such a pretty and unique color!"

I shook my head, a little overcome by her friendliness. People usually thought me unapproachable, (Rima called it 'the spicy vibes') so I had to be the first to talk to people if I wanted to make friends.

Rima was seething, and she grabbed my hand away from Utau, glaring at her. "Amu is MY best friend."

Unfazed, Utau glanced at her, and then squealed. "You're so adorable! You're Mashiro Rima, aren't you? Nagihiko mentioned you once."

"I didn't," Nagihiko hastily supplied. "She was eavesdropping on me and Kukai."

"And what exactly were you saying about me to Kukai, hmm?"

"Don't kill me. I'm still young."

I laughed and Ikuto's expression broke from its neutral mask and he smiled a bit, amused.

"Anyways let's go in," Utau said cheerfully. "I'm sadly lacking in makeup and clothing for the new school year."

"You don't need makeup," Kukai told her earnestly, and she sighed in reply.

"You're obligated to say that, dear." But she looked pleased nonetheless, and they held hands on the way in. I saw Rima glance at Nagihiko from the corner of her eye, and then quickly looked away. They would be kind of cute together, but I didn't think that would happen anytime soon.

"Amu, are you just going to stand there forever?" Ikuto's voice broke through my thoughts and I realized that the rest of them had already gone inside the doors. I blushed.

"Coming!"

Rima and I had been to the mall many, many times, but shopping with the rest of them was a completely different experience. Utau was a scarily efficient shopper, hitting each store with the force of a hurricane. She browsed through the racks and tossed Kukai stuff to hold, and occasionally made me and Rima try on stuff as well.

Then, when she had found all that she wanted, she went into the changing rooms. She was most definitely a decisive person, able to determine whether she wanted something or not. After about ten minutes, at most, we exited the store and on her arm she carried a bag containing two or three new things.

When she was in one of the changing rooms, I saw something that I wanted. But it was expensive, and probably at a discount online, so I took a picture of it to remember what it looked like.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but you aren't allowed to take pictures here," a store attendant told me apologetically. "I'm afraid you're going to have to exit the store."

Embarrassed, I lowered my phone and nodded. "O-Okay."

I shamefully left the store, leaning aginst the wall and waiting for the rest of them to be done. Suddenly, a blur of dark blue whipped across my vision and I turned towards it instinctively, and saw Ikuto smirking beside me.

I freaked, naturally.

He laughed at my reaction. "Oh, poor Amu is a delinquent. She got kicked out of a store!"

"No! I-I-I- just-"

"I'm kidding, Amu," he interrupted, looking at me like I was stupid. "It was a joke."

"O-Oh. Okay."

"You're still awkward," he noted.

Before I could respond, Utau came out of the store. "Now, let's go to that one!" She dragged me by the arm and we ended up in the store across from the one she just came out from.

She looked through the clothes at lightning speed. Kukai, Nagihiko, and Rima came in, the three of them, chatting and joking. Ikuto stepped in last.

"Try this!" I turned as Utau tossed me a fitted black dress.

"Uh, I don't-"

"Just go!" She pushed me into a fitting room and drew the curtain. Sweat dropping, I changed into the dress.

I thought it was pretty. The top was tight and the bottom flared into a skirt. It mostly fitted well, but the bust area was a bit loose, since I wasn't exactly blessed in the chest department. But it was wrapped tightly around my waist and accentuated the length of my legs.

I stepped out, and Utau surveyed me, smiling. "Hey, it looks nice, Amu-chan. Buy it, since it's on sale, anyways."

Kukai gave me a thumbs up and Nagihiko nodded, smiling as well. Rima clapped, her lips lifting into a small, rare smile. "Amu, it looks beautiful on you! Buy it!"

I was about to duck back into the dressing room with these opinions when Ikuto's voice sounded. "You don't have the body for it."

I froze, a blush rising in my cheeks. "U-Uh…"

"It's loose on the top," he emphasized, his voice sounding almost bored. I felt more blood rushing to my face. I went back into the room, hurriedly changing back into my regular clothes. _He's right…_

I stumbled out of the dressing room, tripping over my feet a little. Needless to say, his comment had embarrassed me. "Uh, I don't think I'm going to get it."

"Why not?" Rima asked, sounding concerned. I blushed again.

"W-Well, I mean, it doesn't fit me very well, so-"

"Don't you listen to Ikuto!" She interrupted, glaring at him. "It looked great on you!"

He yawned. "Why would I lie?"

Rima was fuming. "Shut up. Amu is a beautiful girl!"

"I never said she was ugly. The top of it was too big for her. Her breasts aren't exactly huge," he retorted. It stung.

And another thing… he had said that he didn't think me ugly, instead of agreeing to Rima's statement, like most people would generally do with her wording. Did that mean he didn't think I was ugly, but didn't think I was pretty, either?

"W-Whatever, Rima," I said, trying to keep the hurt from showing in my voice. "I didn't like it that much, anyways."

Rima still looked mad, and Utau stepped in before the two of them could fight or something. "Say, are you guys hungry? Let's go get some coffee, okay?"

Rima shot Ikuto one last glare, and then turned to me and took my hand. Ikuto seemed indifferent.

I tried to make us all forget about the incident, telling some stories about my overprotective dad and my weird little sister, as well as my closet pervert of a mother. The time when the pizza guy had come to our house and my father had mistaken him for my boyfriend, and proceeded to try and chase him away with a broom. My sister had cheered him on and my mother laughed, video taping the whole thing.

They usually laughed at my stories and told some amusing anecdote of their own, although Ikuto always had some sarcastic comment on hand.

Finally, Kukai dropped Rima and I off at the place where our bus usually came. It was only a short, ten minute walk to our houses. We lived two houses down from each other, another reason we had become best friends so easily.

It was twilight, and the air was nice and cool. We laughed and joked about today, and when we got to my house, she stopped and looked at me.

"Amu, you _are_ pretty. You know that, right?"

"I-I guess," I responded, trying to sound confident. But on the inside, I was really thinking, _you even said it yourself, Ikuto's a very honest person._ She nodded.

"Good. Don't let anyone, like Ikuto, tell you different. Okay?"

"U-Uh huh."

She waved goodbye and walked down the street to her house I turned and went inside, calling out to my parents that I was home. I went up to my room and dropped my bags on the floor, then booted up my laptop and started browsing the Internet.

It was the end of the first week of school, so homework was basically non-existent. Until dinnertime, I was chatting with Rima on the phone, and Utau online. Then, after dinner, I showered.

As I was stripping down, the shower heating up, I glanced at myself in the mirror and sighed. Nothing about me stood out besides my hair, but the older I got, the more out of place it looked, like a child's wig. I hoped that it would darken to red eventually, but my bright hair showed no signs of fading into auburn.

And my body wasn't amazing. I had a slight curve at my slim waist, but no hips and barely any breasts. My legs, long and slender, were really the only redeeming feature besides my skin, which was mainly unblemished. I thought about it in the shower, and then toweled off and changed into my pajamas, dropping onto my bed.

Plenty of other girls had bodies like mine, and most of them even better. I could see why Ikuto thought I wasn't pretty or special.

_He didn't say that, _my mind tried to comfort me, but I knew it was true, anyways.

"Whatever," I muttered, turning around and closing my eyes. Wanting a better body wasn't going to get me one, so I might as well have stopped thinking about it.

But his words echoed all night long.

* * *

**Haha, sorry I made Ikuto and Utau twins. I wanted their ages to be a certain way, you'll see why... **

**Anyways, I know I kind of disappeared for like a month, but I promise I'm not on hiatus or anything (though judging by my update speed, I might as well be) so you can expect the next chapter of AMI out soon. I was dealing with packing, summer homework, vacations, lunches, dinners, (like the kind where adults want to meet you so you're not allowed to bring your laptop) and 17 hours of flying. I'm back in the States, bored with jetlag, so updates will come.**

**I finished How to Be a Guy (and Fail), so check it out if you want. Love you guys, and review!**

**Question: Do you want me to reply to your reviews over PM?**

**Ciao! ~Sea**


	3. I: I've Been Intrigued

**I KNOW IT'S SHORT. SCREW IT.**

* * *

**Two: I've Been Intrigued-:Ikuto:**

_****__"I'm no good for you, this heart ain't built for two so, runaway, runaway..."_

* * *

She had been cute, I suppose. But nothing special, and I had seen much prettier.

I hadn't known she was friends with Kukai, or Nagihiko. When Rima had told me to meet her best friend, I had honestly expected some kind of popular girl that was a servant to her, but I was seriously surprised that Amu was the opposite. Shy. Awkward. And I had never even heard of her. But for some reason, Rima practically worshipped her. _Rima_, who bowed down to no one.

She was naïve. I could tell that she took everything literally. She blushed every other second and yet, she didn't seem easily offended. She hadn't seemed too bothered when I insulted her body.

She was rather contradictory. Boring, and yet strangely interesting to observe. Like an experiment in Science class. Like a dog, or a baby, wanting to see how they responded to certain things.

Utau liked her well enough, even taking time to chat with her before dinner. Utau was usually very selective about her friends, but Amu seemed to make the cut, although I couldn't detect what was so great about her.

I turned off the light and closed my eyes. I would have to study her a bit more, then pull some strings to see how the puppet danced.

* * *

_"I'm no good for you, get in love and I'll bet you lose so, runaway, runaway..."_

* * *

**So I started school today and fml I will have no friends and classes are so hard and I already have homework what is life**

**How is your first day of school going/gone?**

**I'm sorry this was so short. But I will never unnecessarily drag out a chapter. Song: Killer by The Ready Set.**

**Ciao... Sea is feeling kind of down and tired.**


	4. I: The First Disaster

**Three: The First Disaster-:Amu:**

_"Everybody hurts some days..."_

* * *

"So what's your next class?" Ikuto peered over my shoulder at the schedule I had written in my agenda. We had a variation of block scheduling. Today was Monday, which was Anchor Day. Each class ran for roughly forty-five minutes.

"Um, third period I have… Gym." I looked up at him to see him checking his own schedule.

"Ah, same. It's that way," he said, turning to the right. I hurriedly followed, falling into step next to him again.

He had been pretty nice all of today. We had second period Language Arts together, and he sat not too far away from me. I had just hadn't noticed him the first week, since he sat behind me and I usually paid attention.

I wondered why he was being nicer. Was this his regular personality? Or did he feel bad about the whole dress thing? I brushed off the second thought. He didn't have to have an ulterior motive. I mean, it wasn't like he was being my friend so he could get me to trust him and then kill me or something.

We separated at the locker rooms, and then I changed into the gym uniform. I wished that my hair was long enough to tie up, but hovering at chin length, I couldn't do much with it. This fact because blatantly obvious as everyone else put up their hair (or, in Rima's case, tried to) and I smiled wryly.

I wasn't particularly athletic, but I tried as hard as I could. My stamina was definitely better than Rima, though, who was half asleep throughout the entire time.

Ikuto was amazing. Which was to be expected, since he was a tall guy, and in his jersey, looked VERY good. When we were taking a break and the teacher gave us free time, I found myself watching him shoot hoops with his friends. He didn't even have to jump.

Okay, I'll just admit it outright... he was hot. And athletic. Therefore, I was not the only one staring.

In fact, Rima was probably the only one NOT staring, having fallen asleep on my shoulder. I glanced away, embarrassed that I was basically fangirling like the rest of them.

To my surprise, Ikuto plopped down next to me to take a break. "Was I good?"

I nodded shyly. "U-Um, yes."

He smirked at me a little. "Do you want to play?"

"Eh?"

Before I knew it, he had pulled me to my feet and Rima fell over, my shoulder having been yanked out from under her head. She hit the floor and kept sleeping, much to my relief. Then, I realized that Ikuto was •dragging me on the court•, and that in his hands he held a basketball.

The basketball left his hands and sailed through the air, and the only thought that ran through my head before it hit was, _Maybe I should've told him that I'm __**horribly**__ clumsy...! _and then the bright orange ball fumbled at my fingertips, and I leaned forward, and fell on my face.

In front of everyone.

The basketball bounced, a lonely sound against the rubber floor. The only other noise was Ikuto's laughter.

This was probably one of the most embarrassing public fails I had ever had. I mean, I tripped often, but people weren't usually paying attention to me. But now that Ikuto had dragged me here, all eyes were on me. I wanted to never get up so I wouldn't have to see their expressions.

But I slowly peeled myself up, rubbing my nose and trying not to let my eyes produce tears. Ikuto held out a hand, although he was still sniggering. "I didn't expect that. Sorry."

"It's okay," I said, wobbling on my knees a little. I felt humiliated as I heard people try to reign in laughter. "Gym is over now, anyways."

He let go of my hand and I shook Rima awake, who looked confused as to why my face was red and everyone was looking at me. "Amu, what's going on?"

"N-Nothing," I said too quickly. She blinked but followed as we went into the changing rooms. I sighed with relief as I emerged into the hallway. Hopefully, people would forget about it by next gym period.

"Amu!" Ikuto's voice sounded behind me and I waited for him to catch up. His long legs made the distance seem so short. "You're okay, right?" I nodded and he smiled. "Good, I wouldn't want you to be hurt."

Those words basically made me melt.

"Um yeah, I'm fine," I replied, trying to make myself sound normal. I had become less awkward, but I still didn't know what to say sometimes.

He looked at my hair. "Your hair is a bit messy from you falling over." Almost like in a cliché movie, he moved a bit of my hair from my face. "It's so short, though. Like a boy's."

That kind of made the feels plummet. Did he not see me as a girl? I tried to ignore the inexplicable feeling of disappointment in my stomach. "Well, I might try growing it out."

He snickered. "I can't really imagine you with long hair, though.

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"I don't know. There's nothing you really can do." I could tell what he was unintentionally saying. _You're hopeless._

"Anyways, what's your next class?"

* * *

"God, I'm exhausted." I collapsed on my bed, speaking into my pillow, voice muffled. "It's only the second week of school and I miss summer."

Rima snickered while Utau wonderingly poked around my house. "Let's start on our homework. The longer we sit around, the longer it'll take."

Sighing, I sat up and dug some papers out of my bag. We sat around the table in the living room, and talked while trying to figure out the impossible Algebra 2 homework our teacher had cruelly assigned.

Utau was actually a really cool person, and easy to talk to. She had seemed so intimidating the first time I saw her. She was honestly nothing like Ikuto, who seemed to be able to know exactly what he wanted to say, calculating, manipulating. Granted, Utau could exhibit those skills when necessary (aka trying to convince Rima to go with Nagi to Homecoming) but she was really just a regular, fun girl.

After finishing the worksheet, we simply sat around eating chips and talking. Then Utau gave a sly smirk (or at least, that's what it looked like, unless she just had a face spasm) and said, "Let's call Ikuto!"

"Why?" Rima deadpanned. "He's your brother. You see him everyday."

"Right," she said, and then turned to Rima so her back was facing me. She seemed to mouth something, and Rima reddened and started looking embarrassed. She looked away and nodded. A nervous feeling twisted in my stomach. Why did Utau want us to call him?

"Okay!" Utau cheerfully decided, and got up fluidly, reaching for her cellphone. "I'll put him on speaker."

It rang for a little bit, and then Ikuto's low voice came through. "What is it? Do you need me to pick you up or something? You know our house is like three blocks away."

"Nope," Utau answered, a devilish grin adorning her pretty features, "My friends just wanted to know you better."

"Oh?" His voice took on a slight, mischievous tone of interest. "What would they like to know?"

"Talk to him!" Utau whispered loudly to me, and shoved me in the direction of her phone.

My eyes widened and I stuttered. "W-Whaaat?"

"Oh hey, Amu," Ikuto greeted me, causing my face to burn up.

"H-Hi!"

"Did you want to ask me a question?"

Shoot. Was I supposed to ask him something? I glanced towards Utau, who nodded encouragingly. Rima was leaning forward, looking intrigued. "How tall are you?" I wasn't sure why I had asked that, but it had just come out. I fidgeted as I waited for an answer.

"Do you want to know so you can appropriately decide whether or not to wear heels to Homecoming to impress me?"

"W-WHAT?! NO!"

"I'm five foot eleven."

"NO, I DIDN'T ASK BEC-"

"You asked. Next?"

"But I didn't want to-"

"I said next."

I sighed in frustration. I did NOT want him to think that was why I had asked the question. "What's your favorite kind of food?'

"Did you want to know so you can bake me something nice to win me over?"

"WHERE DO YOU GET THESE IDEAS"?" My face was redder than a ripe watermelon.

"I like mint. Mint chocolate chip ice cream, to be exact. I doubt you can make that, though. Actually, I doubt you can make anything. Your sandwich the other day looked terrible."

I was a bit stung, considering that he was right and I had made that sandwich myself. But I didn't think it was _that _bad…

"Well, your food didn't look great either!" I miserably tried to fire back. "Did your mom not have time to make it for you that morning, so you had to use your bad kitchen skills?"

"…"

"…Ikuto?"

There was no response. The suddenly, I heard a click and a _beepbeepbeep_, and it occurred to me that he had hung up.

Utau was silent.

* * *

"_It's okay to be afraid..."_

* * *

**Ooh, did Amu touch a ****_nerve?_**

**Originally this chapter was going to be a bunch longer and I was like screw it. School. Homework. And it just felt right to end it here, so yup. Here ya go! Hope you liked it anyways. Most of the chapters will be around the length of this chapter/the first one. Song: Everybody Hurts by Avril Lavigne. I know it didn't really fit, but whatever. I liked the vibe.**

**Question: What's your view on Homecoming/who's taking you/who are you taking/do you even have Homecoming?**

**Thank you for all your comments and reviews. Sea's feeling much better, she just had a rough first day of school :) Ciao! Love you all and please spaz and type in that little box down below :* Wow this sounds like Youtube.**


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